For the sake of this list I'm going to only count games that released in 2017, even though I finally got around to playing some cool stuff that released in earlier years (The Last Guardian, etc.) But I am going to count older games that released in 2017 on a new platform if that is how I first experienced them (Axiom Verge, etc.)

11. Splatoon 2 (NS) - I generally struggle to stay interested in online games, and I did fall off of Splatoon 2 after about 15 hours or so, but that's still a good chunk of fun to be had. And they just keep adding new stuff!

10. Sonic Mania (NS) - I'm not a fan of Sonic like... at all... but Mania hit all the right beats to keep me interested. This is the first time that I really felt like I "got" the gameplay, and it had a lot of variety to keep it spicy.

9. Golf Story (NS) - How did I forget this?! A golf sim with a goofy story, zany cast of characters and a wide variety of golf-based tasks. One of the more unique indie games I've played this year and it is Switch exclusive!

8. Axiom Verge (NS) - I haven't actually finished it yet (just started it recently), but near the end and really loving it. It's basically a Metroid clone that doesn't hide that it is a Metroid clone, but it's one of the best Metroid clones I have played, with a lot of neat weapons and functionality and a very weird story.

7. Nier: Automata (PS4) - To be honest I'm only about 8 hours into this game (also just started it recently), but loving it so far. It's basically an open world action RPG but with action that reminds me more of Devil May Cry type stuff than the typical action RPG. Has a very interesting world with a lot of unique characters as well.

6. Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) - I don't have a particularly strong connection to Metroid II, but this remake is basically a brand new game. It's huge (maybe even too huge) and wonderful, a big and epic handheld Metroid game. A bit of variety in bosses would have been nice, but what can you do.

5. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PS4) - Ok, technically I haven't finished this game yet either (again, started it fairly recently), but I'm pretty far into it and man... it's so good. Capcom reinvented Resident Evil yet again, going back to the roots in how you progress (feels a lot like Resident Evil 1's mansion) but keeping an updated 1st person view. It doesn't quite touch 4 for me, but it's up there with the best of the rest.

4. Rocket League (NS) - I know this game is old news but it is new to the Switch and man, it's so much fun. It's basically soccer with cars and add in sweet online play and it gets addicting as heck. An online game that actually keeps me coming back!

3. Persona 5 (PS4) - Although it feels a bit more bloated than 4, Persona 5 is still an excellent sequel with an awesome cast of character, a great story, and a whole lot going on that kept me into it for the 100ish hour run-time. And that ending just... wow.

2. Super Mario Odyssey (NS) - I had some issues with it, but at the end of the day it was a breath of fresh air for a franchise that somehow seems to continue reinventing itself and the most packed Mario game to date. New Donk City might be one of the greatest areas ever created in a video game.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NS) - What can you say about Zelda that hasn't been said already? Nintendo finally captured that feeling of exploration that they have been talking about for years now. The overworld is a freaking huge and amazing place to explore with tons to do. Shrines were pretty fun too.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

2017 games I wanted to play but never got around to: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Stardew Valley, Night in the Woods, etc.

nate38's top 26 games played in 2017!(that'd be all of them)Games released in 2017 have ***AsterisksNintendo system games are in Red(including mobile Nintendo titles and games confirmed for Switch in the future)

26. Sonic: Lost World -- Played through the first two Worlds. Gotta give Sonic Team credit for trying something new. But that's about all this game has going for it, sadly.

***25. Spark the Electric Jester -- Finished Spark's story. It's got major elements of Sonic and Kirby and Mega Man X featured, and yet it somehow misses the appeal of all three.

24. Furi -- Beat the game and One More Fight (not Bernard). I like that it's focused and stylish. I don't like that it's restrictive and less varied than one would expect from the premise.

23. Super Mario Run -- Got all black coins in World 1, played a few Toad Rallies. Didn't buy the rest. Fun enough, but a little too trial-and-error for my tastes. Nintendo made Mario work on smartphones, but in a way that mostly feels like a watered down console game.

22. Ys Seven -- Finished the game on Normal difficulty. For me the appeal of the Ys series is their brevity and simplicity. Ys Seven stepped away from both without going anywhere worthwhile.

21. ABZU -- Finished the game. I liked the pretty fishies.

20. Journey -- Played through it in one sitting with a friend. I liked hitting the hum button.

***19. Blaster Master Zero -- Beat the game, true ending. A more "faithful" remake than I expected, in that it didn't have a ton of notable improvements or additions. But the original was good, so this was good.

18. DOOM 2016 -- Played until the game crashed and corrupted my save file (on PC). Until then it was...fine, I guess.

17. Rhythm Heaven Megamix -- Finished all the story minigames with Superb ratings. A bit overstuffed and bloated, but it's hard to fault that in a game that's basically a "Best Of" album with some extras.

***16. Rivals of Aether -- Completed all character tutorials and story modes (no DLC). I can see why this is the top Smash clone, but I only have room for one Smash in my life, and right now that's Smash 4.

15. Rez Infinite -- Beat Rez and Area X. Rez was decent. Area X was awesome, and I wish it lasted more than 15 minutes.

***14. BYE-BYE BOXBOY! -- 100% completion. A slight step down from the previous two games (diminishing returns and all), but still great.

***13. The End is Nigh -- Got the Acceptance ending. 85% complete in the past, 57% in the future. A good spiritual sequel to Super Meat Boy.

9. Inside -- Beat the game and got the secret ending. That was a weird one. In a good way.

***8. Cuphead -- Beat the game. I'm less enamored with the game than most, but that's the worst thing I can say about this obvious labor of love.

***7. Night in the Woods -- Finished the game. Apparently missed out on a lot of optional scenes. Feel like I missed out on a lot, even on the stuff I saw, but I liked the stuff I got.

***6. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment -- Beat the game, found all red skulls. Probably my least favorite Shovel Knight campaign so far, but it's still great. I almost feel bad that Yacht Club Games has given me so much Shovel Knight for the $10 I pledged on Kickstarter.

5. Her Story -- Took copious notes and got to the bottom of her story. Really unique "game" that hit me in exactly the right mood.

***4. Fire Emblem Heroes -- Kept up with the game through the year, completed just about all of the available content. Mixed feelings on this one. I like that Fire Emblem's history is being honored and updated (even if the 3DS games are the clear focus). And I think they did a good job of updating the game with new features and player-friendly changes regularly. But I really don't like that Nintendo is shamelessly fishing for whales in the waters of Free To Play gacha gaming, even if I've gotten a pretty "full" experience out of it without spending a dime. Finally, I'm not sure what to make of this game reportedly being the highest earning Fire Emblem game ever made. I don't think anything particularly good will come of it, though.

***3. Crypt of the Necrodancer: AMPLIFIED -- Beat the game as Nocturna, and again as Cadence with the new content. A great game made even greater with DLC.

***2. Sonic Mania -- Beat the game 100%...six times. I'm sure I'll be playing it over and over again for years to come. You guys don't understand how good it feels to feel good about Sonic again.

***1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild -- Completed the main quest and all the DLC (not Master Mode). 103 Shrines, 208 Korok seeds, 78 sidequests. 39.93% Completion. Looking back, BOTW's best feature isn't discovery, as the stuff you find in this game is usually a bit disappointing. But the ANTICIPATION of discovery is masterful. Maybe the best thing about Breath of the Wild is that, while it's an excellent game, it has so much room for improvement in a hypothetical sequel. I can't wait to see what comes next. I've never been more hopeful for Zelda's future.

2017 Games I plan to play laterSuper Mario OdysseyGolf StoryYs VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

2017 Games I wish I had the time / money / energy for but probably never will :(Persona 5Nier AutomataDoki Doki Literature ClubARMSXenoblade Chronicles 2PyreNiohSnake PassTumbleseedWonder Boy: The Dragon's TrapMario + Rabbids Kingdom BattleSteamworld Dig 2SnipperClipsThe Sexy BrutaleGetting Over It With Bennett FoddyYakuza 0Gravity Rush 2Horizon Zero DawnUncharted: The Lost LegacyDivinity: Original Sin 2

7. Nier: Automata (PS4) - To be honest I'm only about 8 hours into this game, but loving it so far. It's basically an open world action RPG but with action that reminds me more of Devil May Cry type stuff than the typical action RPG. Has a very interesting world with a lot of unique characters as well.

I knew this game was well-received when it came out earlier this year, but it's been on at least 80% of the GOTY lists I've seen over the last few weeks, and top overall on a few. Game seems like it came out of nowhere and then hit it big. Maybe I'll have to add it to my Steam wishlist and keep an eye on sales over the next year or so.

Well I was going to make myself an elaborate thread and/or Top 10 for this.. but hell, you beat me to the punch and this thread's got some steam. I'll post soon. I have the 10 written out but I wanted to note a couple of things first.

Hmm gonna have to give this some thought. Even though lots of great games came out this year I didn't actually play many of them. Off the top of my head (just all the games I can think of) I played Flinthook, The End is Nigh, Zelda: BotW, Mario Odyssey, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire, Caveblazers, Fidel Dungeon Rescue, Battlerite, Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment.

Games that came out this year that I really wanted to play and couldn't for one reason or another include- Rainworld- Hollow Knight- Yooka Laylee- A Hat In Time- Nier: Automata- Nioh- Sonic Mania- Horizon Zero Dawn- PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds- Cuphead- What Remains of Edith Finch- Prey- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy- Night in the Woods- Xenoblade Chronicles 2- Steamworld Dig 2

Seriously 2017 slow down. Look at all these games I need to play just from this year. Gonna come back with a list later on.

@carlosrox I can't link to it because the official site was taken down due to copyrights, but Super Mario 64 Online is a program that runs in tandem with an emulator running Super Mario 64. It allows up to 24 players to play the game simultaneously, and also adds in 7 other playable characters. I didn't play with randos though, just a few friends. Even though the game wasn't made for multiplayer, I still had a lot of fun playing it that way.

Really nice list, Zero. I suspect around 5 or 6 of those will be making my Top 10 list too.

I'll be finalizing my list over the next couple weeks, as there are two games I really want to finish. I'm thinking I might be posting a Top 15 or even a Top 20 because there were a lot of very good games released last year, and I already feel bad about a few that I really liked but won't even be top 10.

Keep in mind I've only played Nintendo system games, and even then haven't gotten around to all the ones I want to (like Golf Story). Will be playing Persona 5 soon. Here's my list:

10. Stardew Valley (NS) -- This is a solid Harvest Moon clone in an age where Harvest Moon has been stagnant for a while. It's polished, balanced, and has some good characterization, but I feel it's a little too same-y at times to the point where it's bordering on plagiarism. And for my money, it's not quite as good as something like Rune Factory.

9. Sonic Mania (NS) -- Definitely one of the most balanced and tightly designed Sonic games. The stages are a good mix of spectacle and challenge, managing to mostly feel fair and avoiding the bad enemy placement that has plagued the series in the past. Some questionable visual elements (like enemies causing damage even though they look safe to hit) bring it down a bit, but by and large this is one of the best games in the series.

8. Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (NS) -- The core gameplay of TDT is about as good as any high-tier adventure/platformer from the late-80s would be, but the real star of the show is the game's unbelievably great visuals. In terms of art style, this is definitely one of the prettiest games I've ever seen; I just love its look. I think it deserved to get as much praise as Cuphead did for graphics, to be honest.

7. Splatoon 2 (NS) -- I poured a few dozen hours into this one thanks to its balanced gameplay and particularly its great new co-op mode, Salmon Run. I do think it played it a little too safely for a sequel, although the recent update with the gameplay tweaks, extra stages and new mode make it feel more fully fleshed-out.

6. Steamworld Dig 2 (NS) -- The sequel to one of my favorite indie titles went bigger and bolder in every direction, with a larger world, more variety, and new puzzle design to the point where it practically traversed into the adventure genre entirely. I think what it does, it does really well, but I do sort of miss the focus on digging that the first game had. That and I think the overall snarky tone of the game was a bit of a turn-off.

5. Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) -- It sure was great to play a new (more-or-less) Metroid this year, particularly one that wasn't afraid to introduce some bold new concepts in an effective way. The emphasis on aiming and even the melee strike led to some outstanding boss encounters, and the combat never got old for me. The new abilities were clever as well and the game world was quite sprawling. I think some of the design could've been tighter and the soundtrack was sadly a little muted.

4. Fire Emblem Warriors (NS) -- Mixing the Warriors gameplay with Fire Emblem tactics made for a surprisingly great combo. I already enjoyed Hyrule Warriors, but FEW's gameplay is better in every way, adding in fun wrinkles like the weapon triangle, pairing up characters and being able to order multiple units all over the map. Solid visuals and sound help make going through all the content an enjoyable romp, even if the title does suffer a bit of repetition that the series is known for.

(large gap)

3. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS) -- My favorite 3DS experience of the year is a revisit to my favorite Dragon Quest game. While DQVIII looks and sounds worse than it did on the PS2, the gameplay tweaks and additions more than made up for it. This title was a joy to play through, with a large sprawling world, highly enjoyable characters and that unmistakable Dragon Quest charm that makes the series so appealing. DQVIII's story is more ambitious, its characters more richly-defined, its sidequests deeper and its world more vast and open than any in the series' past.

(large gap)

2. Super Mario Odyssey (NS) -- Mario's latest can hang with his absolute best, although if pressed, I'd place it a hair below Galaxy. Odyssey is massive and fun throughout its whole 70-hour-ish adventure (assuming you're getting all the Moons, and why wouldn't you because it's crazy fun). The game is packed with variety in both your actions and in its worlds, subverting expectations on what a Mario game is all the way through the bizarre ending sequence. Odyssey really finds a great balance between exploring large worlds and completing tightly-designed tasks, and the Cappy abilities really help with the variety. While the soundtrack is very good, it's implemented in a weirdly muted way, and a few of the Moons could've been tweaked (looking at you, Volleyball), but overall, I loved it.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NS) -- It's not every game--particularly of the single-player variety--that can occupy over 270 hours of my time in less than a year. Not since--yep--Ocarina of Time have I been this engrossed in a title, this drawn in to explore every corner of its vast, inviting world. BotW gives you the tools you need, teaches you the rules of the world, then sets you off on your way to explore with nary a Navi in sight to interrupt your gameplay. Puzzles can be approached in a myriad of ways, as can the combat, which despite the limited variety of foes is constantly engaging thanks to all the different options at your disposal. The world is incredibly massive but you can conquer it however you please, following the traveler's paths or shooting straight through mountains if you wish. After so much hand-holding in the recent games, BotW respects the player to a degree I didn't think possible for the series (after the original game anyway), letting you get absorbed into the adventure in a fully unobtrusive way. It's not a perfect Zelda game (I would've liked more traditional dungeons and a better soundtrack), but any game that can crack my Top Ten in this day and age has to be something special. And special BotW is, going above and beyond even its series' high caliber to become my favorite game of the entire millennium. A game this good comes around maybe once a decade, if we're lucky.

This game was a pretty solid Sonic game in the end. It did it's job well and I had fun. It's this far down the list because I didn't have an urge to replay it after I beat it though. Well made and will be fondly remembered overall.

Golf Story looked neat from the trailer and then upon release. I had a lot of fun with the gameplay, which in some respects there wasn't enough. However, at the same time, it overstayed it's welcome story-wise a little bit. I was happily accomplished though anyway. I would be interested in more golf-gameplay in this kind of fashion but I wouldn't quite want a sequel either.

Ah, the long-awaited Stardew Valley. I patiently waited a long time for this to release on a Nintendo console and the Switch was perfect for it. I played it through the full two years, kicked ass at my overall rating, had one kid and another on the way, made friends with weird creatures, got caught eating out of the trash, etc. Did it all. It scratched an itch that I've wanted since the Harvest Moon series got stale and I stepped away. I feel this is quite complete at over 90 hours of gaming.

The surprise hit nobody realized was coming. The rumors didn't incite hate in me and I stayed optimistic. I was happy to find that I LOVED this game upon release. For what it's trying to do, it's damn near perfect. I think all it needed as a hidden character or two to spice things up. I hope to get my nephew playing this soon. It'll be good for his brain. Plus the Ubisoft Milan team seem so damn happy, especially Davide Soliani. A great 'underdog' tale for this one.

I had beaten Shovel of Hope and tested out Plague of Shadows on the Wii U. However once the Zelda gaming wore down, I needed something else early on to play on my new Switch. I played through the Treasure Trove and beat all three games. Spectre Knight's campaign was fun but it was me giving Plague Knight another chance that blew me away. I had so much fun with his weird movements. It required a whole new way of thinking. I loved it. Still love it. Damn this is a stellar package. Plus King Knight is still on it's way!

Splatoon. My lover. My muse. This sequel is fantastic. I disagree with those who feel it's not a true sequel. There really isn't grounds to justify that but I guess I see where people wish for more. Clam Blitz and new stages have been stellar additions, not to mention Salmon Run itself. However it's in this list as 'beaten' because of the stellar single-player campaign I beat this year. I 100%ed that thing. Meaning... all levels, with all weapons. That's hundreds of level-weapon combos. It was fun enough to do IMO. Splatoon is such a tight package. Splatoon 2 continues the trend.

With my 3DS dead in the water due to the busted-B-button... I was surprised this made it here. It only did so because it was something I picked up for Christmas after I received my New 2DS XL. The BOXBOY series is stupendous. This one is no different, though the main game seemed easier than others. I guess because I can think of solutions better now. However 100%ing it was tough. The post-game is taking no prisoners.

What can I say? I love this developer and the SteamWorld series. The games are always well made and really fun. So a sequel to one of my favorite games OF ALL TIME was a godsend for me. Turns out, it was a grand success. Another game I 100%ed... I had so much fun with this for a mere week but I still put in half a work-week's worth of time into it. I can't wait for the next from I&F.

Mario. What can I say that hasn't been said? It was a really well made package of a lot of moons to find. Unique levels. Fantastic music. Fun transformations. A great camera system! This was Mario in his Prime! Though I'm sure the future holds more. Nintendo made something special here. It had a few minor hiccups which prevented it from reaching the top spot but all in all I had so much fun for my 70 hours with it. I got to share this experience with my nephew also which was nice. He was playing and beating it along-side me. It was great hearing of his discoveries.

I'm still playing this technically as I haven't beaten the second DLC pack. This game is a game changer. Nintendo and Zelda are forever changed with one of the greatest transformations of a franchise in gaming history. The sense of discovery was unmatched by Nintendo before. They've set their own bar once again and it sets a lot for the future of gaming. Even though open-world like this has been done, Breath of the Wild pioneered the world and feel that this game exerts. I can NOT wait to go back in to a new Zelda game if it's even half like this one. I spent time investigating and finding all the Korok Seeds even. Wasn't truly blind in the find but I didn't just watch some YouTube video either. Detective work lead to a fun post-game exploration-fest after I beat the main game and now the DLC adds even more. The whole thing is a beautiful masterpiece.

Honorable Mentions:Splatoon 2 (Multi-Player) - As you can see above I've put hundreds of hours into this. This will surely double and beyond before the generation is done. I just didn't want to count Multi-Player in my ranking system.Super Mario World - One of my all-time favorites. I 100%ed it when the SNES Classic released. It's a game I can do that from memory over the course of a few hours. A special gem. Just an oldie so I kept it off the list.Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - I really enjoy the Shantae series. This entry was a bit more playing it safe than I wanted so it didn't make the list but I don't regret playing it or 100%ing it. Well.. maybe that latter point a little.Kid Tripp - I nabbed this over #IndieXmas and while I was frustrated by it's challenge, it was actually fun! I played it over a couple of hours and beat all the stages. I'm not interested in the post-game score-attack stuff but it was a cute game for what it was and how I received it.

@Mop it up GET OUT OF THERE THE NINTENDO COPYRIGHT NINJAS ARE ON THEIR WAY

But yeah, that looked fun, people underestimate just how fun it is to occupy a space with other players in 3D games, especially one with the fun locomotion of SM64.

@TriforceBun I'm with you there on Wonder Boy. I haven't seen much of the game, but from what I've seen I actually think I prefer its visuals to Cuphead. Cuphead's authentically old-school style was the more laborious process, I'm sure, but The Dragon's Trap just looks gorgeous to me. I should actually play it sometime, haha.

Yo, this site ate my post again. I had a full top 11-30 written out, and when I hit post the site takes me to a page telling me to sign in. It seems that I was somehow logged out in the process of writing my long post? Luckily I had copied my work about 3/4 through in case something went wrong, but I still ended up losing a good chuck of it.

I'm not mad, Zero. I'm just disappointed.

Hero_of_Hyrule said:

Well dang. I went and wrote my own top 10 to make into a dedicated standalone list. Then, while I'm in the process of that, I fail to notice people are just popping their lists in here. So I go ahead and put my list in it's own dedicated page and look like a narcissist. But of course I'm not going to take it down now that I already put it up :p.

Anyway, I might as well put my top 11-20 in here, since this is getting more discussion.

11. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga Plus Bowsers Minions Minus a free copy of Mario Bros: A well done remake of a great GBA RPG. Nice and brief, so you can get in, have your fun, and get out without the game wasting your time or getting repetitive.

12. Yo Noid 2: Not a lot of people are talking about this great game, so I kind of don't want to spoil it. Yes, this is a real thing. It's a 3D Platformer that captures the zeitgeist of the late 90's. And beneath its charming yet strange exterior are some solid platforming chops. It's free and only takes a couple hours. My weak ass laptop can run it. There's no reason not to play this great game.

13. Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series: Talk about a surprise hit! I went in expecting a mediocre cash in on the Guardian's brand, but ended up getting a surprisingly emotional and poignant story. I was initially very down on the series for the first episode or two, because I didn't want to play a Guardians game where everybody was pissed off and not having much fun. But as the stakes rose and the characters become more emotionally open and raw, I was able to be sucked into the game's highs and lows. There's one particularly bittersweet moment in the ending I got that absolutely destroyed me. It took some trying to get me onboard for the ride, but once they got me, they had me.

14. Nioh: One of the best souls clones, Nioh establishes an identity of its own with an untapped aesthetic and added depth to its mechanics. The level design can drag towards the end of the game, and I'm generally never a fan of diablo style loot systems. But those two flaws don't hold this back Nioh from being a successful follow-up to a format I love, without feeling derivative.

15. WWE 2K18: I've got a real soft spot for wrestling games. I have a lot of fun setting up championship matches and seeing big multi-man matches. 2K18 feels like a worthwhile step up in smoothness and polish, so it seems that my strategy of skipping every other yearly release paid off.

16. Poi: If a Hat in Time is the indie answer to Mario Sunshine, Poi is the indie take on Mario 64. Like Mario 64, it's a little less polished and a little less thought out, but captures the simplistic charm of early 3D design. It's a very pleasant little game with a surprising amount of content. After Mario Odyssey and a Hat in Time, it might be hard to go back, but Poi is worth remembering. It's a nice, simple 3D platformer, which is hard to come by.

17. Splatoon 2: I love the idea behind Splatoon. It's a great design format. I love the childish, yet urban aesthetics. I love the blending of maritime creatures and setting with city settings. I love the silly stupid soundtrack. And despite Splatoon taking some steps to feel unique, too much of it feels like a straight up expansion, rather than a sequel. There is a nice commitment to making a lot of the weapons and different from the original, but it can't stop the game from feeling too derivative for its own good. It also doesn't help that Splatoon 1 had more content, than was better on average. It's still great, because Splatoon is great. But I expect more from Nintendo.

18. Shantae: Half Genie Hero: This game came out in 2016, but it was so late into the year that I'm still gonna count it. Half Genie hero is a gorgeous, well polished, concise slice of Metroid-style goodness. It's designed in such a way that those who want to stick to the main quest can play through the linear sections and ignore much of the backtracking, but there are also plenty of side quests and hidden collectables for those who wish to seek them out. The production values also remain impressive throughout.

19.Metroid: Samus Returns: It's so nice to play a new official 2D Metroid. Even with the better fan-remake in mind, Samus Returns does enough differently to be worthwhile. Not to mention having the wider platform. Between the original, AM2R, and Samus Returns, I've done more than my fair share of talking about Metroid 2. So all I'll say now is that I sincerely hope we get to see a new 2D Metroid some time soon. Reuse these assets if you have to; they're a great foundation. But whatever it takes, let's see a new 2D Metroid.

20. Rime: This game fits nicely in the same category as Journey or Abzu. It's the kind of the game that uses its pretty visuals to take the player a brief adventure with minimal dialogue. This game has a bit more to chew on mechanically thanks to a greater density of puzzles. While they don't do much to add to the overall experience, they don't really detract either. The initial island area was my favorite because it felt pretty open and had a surprising amount of hidden collectibles. Later areas offer a degree of freedom that you usually don't see in say, Abzu, which made exploring and looking for secrets more rewarding. Like Journey, this is one of those "experience" games that doesn't benefit much from the more concrete way I talk about games.

21. The Disney Afternoon Collection: I've written reviews on like half of these games, so if you want to here more detailed thoughts you can check them out. The short version is that Capcom killed it on the NES with great action platformer after great action platformer. And this collection has 4 of them, plus 2 bad games.

22. HEY! PIKMIN! WHOO!: I'm a big mushy Pikmin fan, and I was absolutely delighted to spend a couple hours immersed in the sights and sounds of Pikmin on my 3DS. There's nothing exceptional about this game from a clinical perspective, but trying to critically analyze this game is like trying to critically analyze a pleasant stroll through the park. At the same time, there's nothing profound in the way it's pieces come together to create something unique or special that I can point out. It's a simple pleasure that appeals to me on a subjective level. So if you don't give a shit about Pikmin, you'll probably think this game is boring. But I adore Pikmin, so this was a good time.

23. Kirby Blowout Blast: I pleasant little download title I couldn't get enough of. It's got this 3D, arcadey approach to Kirby that is super fun to get good at. It takes the original Kirby approach of swallowing and spitting up enemies, but here you're trying to run around these blocky 3D levels to line up combos with Kirby's projectile spit. All the while you've got excellent Kirby tracks pumping in the background. It's not very hard, but getting that perfect run is no less rewarding. They do just about all that can be done with the gameplay in the game's runtime, so it doesn't feel like there's any missed potential. 23 sounds like a low rating, so don't misunderstand me. Kirby Blowout Blast is one of my favorite 3DS eshop games.

24. Overcooked A pretty clever multiplayer game that requires players to multitask the work needed to run a restaurant as efficiently as possible. It starts simple, but quickly ramps up into intense challenges that promote the sort of friendship ending shouting that hasn't been heard since Mario Party's heyday.

Been happening for years HoH. Always write big posts elsewhere first or at least copy before posting. I have no idea why this glitch occurs. Maybe Zero can shed light on it but it does happen. Sorry to hear you lost a lot of what you had.

I'm planning to start your number 22, HEY! PIKMIN, this month. Hoping I like it!

I see your one of the folks who feels Splatoon 2 doesn't go far enough. How do you feel about each Mario Kart iteration?

It's basically because the connection dies so when you go to hit submit it's not actually submitting... whether your Internet cuts out, or the server is down, or whatever.

The only real way around it would be to write code that auto-saves drafts or something, which I guess technically IS possible, but real-time auto-save type stuff was barely even a thing years ago when I built this sucker. Not sure what all it would take to get that going.

Yeah, I'm familiar with it happening. It's not a big deal. Shit happens.

I have no problem with Mario Kart's model. Most titles try to mix things up in some way (3D Graphics; 2 riders; motorcycles and online; portability; mission mode, online play, and retro tracks; motorcycles and 4 more racers; vehicle transformations and custom karts; zero gravity and Zelad/AC in dlc). Aside from offerring more Mario Kart, each new game tends to have some new twist that makes the game stand out. It's usually something that is innovative for the series (online play) or impacts most races, if not every single one (more players, custom karts, motorcycles, dual riders). Also, every game plays differently. The way turning, drifting, and speed control work differs from game to game, so each one feels unique outside of added mechanics.

Splatoon 2 does not feel as different or new as most Mario Kart games. Salmon Run is innovative for the series, but it's a side mode that can only be played on Nintendo's silly schedule and lacks content. The main multiplayer game has some new weapons, but a majority of them feel the same. Since the base game plays exactly the same, it comes down to the new weapons and maps to make it feel different. And they don't succeed in doing so. There are not enough new kinds of weapons and there are simply too few maps (including recycled ones from the original game). There is almost nothing in this game that feels like it had to be on Switch. If they wanted to, they could have added most of this content to the original game (not necessarily arguing they should though!).

Now, Splatoon 2 is a great game because Splatoon 1 is great. I just think it should have gone farther in making things feel new and different, rather than a full priced expansion.